Iskwē
- Electropop
- indie electronic
- downtempo
- trip hop
- post-rock
iskwē (Cree syllabics: ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ, formerly transliterated IsKwé) (short for waseskwan iskwew, meaning "blue sky woman" in English)[1] (born Meghan Lynne Meisters,[2] 1981) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and activist.[3]
Personal life
Originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba, iskwē has lived in Los Angeles, New York City, and Toronto, and now lives in Hamilton, Ontario.[4]
iskwē is a Cree Métis and a citizen of the Manitoba Métis Federation, a federally recognized Métis government.[5]
Career
She released her debut album Iskwé in 2013.[6] Her debut single "Nobody Knows," produced by The Darcys and featured in the Netflix series Between, focused on the Missing and murdered Indigenous women crisis in Canada.[7]
Her second album, The Fight Within, was released in 2017.[8] In 2018, she received a SOCAN Songwriting Prize nomination for the song "Healers".[9] The Fight Within garnered a win at the 2017 Western Canadian Music Awards (WCMA) for Electronic/Dance Artist of the Year, she also received a Juno Award nomination for Indigenous Music Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2018 and was longlisted for the 2018 Polaris Music Prize.[10][7][11]
Her third album, acākosīk, was released on 8 November 2019.[12] The album won a Juno Award for Music Video of the Year for the song Little Star directed by Sarah Legault[13] and was a Juno Award nominee for Adult Alternative Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2020.[14] Her song "Breaking Down" was shortlisted for the 2020 SOCAN Songwriting Prize and the video PRISM Prize.[15]
iskwē's fourth album The Stars was released 5 March 2021 and is a "reimagination" of her album acākosīk (saying that "the stars" is English for acākosīk.[16]) featuring new arrangements (by Darren Fung) of six songs with iskwē accompanied by a trio of piano (Michael Shand), cello (Mariel Gonzalez), and violin (Laura C Bates) recorded live-of-the-floor at Revolution Recording[17] in Toronto and an orchestral arrangement of “Night Danger (Lovers Mix)” recorded with the FILMharmonic Orchestra (Prague).[18]
Discography
- Iskwé (2013)
- The Fight Within (2017)
- acākosīk (2019)
- The Stars (2021)
- Mother Love (2022, with Tom Wilson)
- nīna (2024)[19]
Songs
Iskwé Album Tracks[20]
- iNewYork
- So Over You
- Recycle ft M1 of Dead Prez
- Another Love Song (remix)
- Wandering (remix)
- One Better
- Midnight
- Another Love Song
- Not Today
- Slack Jaw
The Fight Within Album Tracks[21]
- Ice Walker
- Soldier
- Healers
- The Storm
- Will I See
- Disturbed
- Nobody Knows
- Sometimes ft. Keolya
- Say It Sweet
acākosīk Album Tracks[22]
- Intro
- Breaking Down
- The Unforgotten
- Little Star
- Interlude
- Sweet Tuesday
- Night Danger
The Stars Album Tracks[23]
- Little Star (Stars Mix)
- Night Danger (Lovers Mix)
- Sweet Tuesday (Stars Mix)
- Interlude (Stars Mix)
- Breaking Down (Stars Mix)
- The Unforgotten (Stars Mix)
Awards
- 2020 Juno Winner – Little Star Music Video of the Year[24]
- 2020 Juno Nominee – acākosīk for Alternative Album of the Year[25]
- 2020 Nominee SOCAN Songwriting Prize - for the song "Breaking Down"
- 2020 Nominee PRISM Prize for 'Breaking Down"
- 2018 Juno Nominee – The Fight Within Indigenous Album of the Year[7]
- 2018 Polaris Prize Long List – The Fight Within[11]
- 2017 WCMA Winner – Electronic Artist of the Year[7]
- 2017 Winner – REVEAL Indigenous Arts Award[7]
References
- ^ Karen Bliss (13 February 2019). "iskwē Takes on Callous Coverage of Indigenous Youth Murders In 'Little Star': Video Premiere". Billboard.com.
- ^ "Indigenous musician's Facebook page suspended for using traditional name". CBC.ca. 16 October 2015.
- ^ "Remembrance, by iskwe". The Walrus. 9 November 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ "Indigenous artist iskwē shares her inspiration for music". Unreserved, 10 September 2017.
- ^ Loo, Olivea (15 December 2023). "The blue sky woman "Iskwē" performs new music live in Toronto". 106.5 ELMNT FM Toronto (CFPT-FM). Retrieved 25 February 2024.
- ^ "Iskwé’s fight for the greater good". The Coast, 9 November 2017.
- ^ a b c d e "Iskwé". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- ^ "First Play: Iskwé, The Fight Within". CBC Music, 26 October 2017.
- ^ "2018 SOCAN Songwriting Prize Nominees Revealed". Exclaim!, 24 May 2018.
- ^ "Arcade Fire and Daniel Caesar lead 2018 Juno Award nominations". CBC Music, 6 February 2018.
- ^ a b "2018Polaris Music Prize Longlist". polarismusicprize.ca. 18 February 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ Graham Rockingham, "Hamilton-based singer-songwriter shares her journey of Indigenous self-discovery with new album". Hamilton Spectator, 6 November 2019.
- ^ "2020 Juno Award Winners, by". Juno awards. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ Melody Lau, "Alessia Cara and Tory Lanez lead the 2020 Juno nominations". CBC Music, 28 January 2019.
- ^ Allie Gregory, "SOCAN Announces 2020 Songwriting Prize Finalists". Exclaim!, July 16, 2020.
- ^ "iskwē Swaps Out Electro-Pop Immediacy for Orchestral Haunt on 'The Stars' EP, by Alisha Mughal". exclaim.ca. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
- ^ "Revolution Recording". revolutionrecording.com. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ "FILMharmonic Orchestra". musa.cz/filmharmonic-orchestra.htm. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ Spill Magazine Staff (11 January 2024). "Spill New Music: iskwē Announces New Album nīna + Shares "Waiting for the Laughter"". Spill New Music. Spill Magazine. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
- ^ "iskwe, by iskwe". iskwe. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- ^ "The Fight Within, by iskwe". iskwe. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- ^ "acākosīk, by iskwe". iskwe. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ "The Stars, by iskwe". iskwe. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ "2020 Juno Award Winners, by". Juno awards. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ "2020 Juno Award Winners, by". Juno awards. Retrieved 11 March 2021.